POWERMAN 5000 Return To Studio: The Official Press Release

POWERMAN 5000 HEADS BACK INTO THE STUDIO WITH NEW RHYTHM SECTION - BASSIST SIGGY SJURSEN AND DRUMMER ADRIAN OST JOIN PLATINUM ROCK BAND

LOS ANGELES, July 18, 2002 — "We've had personnel changes before, but the group always survives," says POWERMAN 5000 leader Spider One. "I'm reminded of something Charles Bukowski once said – 'Endurance is more important than truth.' That's such a big part of being in this band: endurance."

These observations come as PM5K heads into the studio, this time with new bassist Siggy Sjursen and drummer Adrian Ost. The two have been passed the baton by bassist Dorian Heartsong and drummer Al Pahanish, who departed the band in November of 2001. Guitarists M.33 and Adam 12 remain firmly on board.

Asked what fans might hear on the new, as-yet-untitled POWERMAN record, Spider explains: "After we decided not to release Anyone For Doomsday? because we felt it wasn't ready, and those guys quit the band, it seemed like all bets were off. So I just threw away any idea of what we should be doing. I said to the band, 'Forget about what we've done, forget about what people think we are, forget about what you think we are. Fuck it – let's just do whatever we feel like doing!' When you replace two out of five people, it essentially becomes a new band, which was great because it left the door open for us to do anything."

Indeed, the POWERMAN faithful may notice some departures from the material that appeared on the group's platinum album, 1999's Tonight The Stars Revolt! (their second disc for DreamWorks Records), which featured the Active and Modern Rock hits "When Worlds Collide" and "Nobody's Real".

"I grew up listening to punk rock and rap and have never really focused on melody," Spider says. "But all of a sudden, this light switched on and I realized I needed to do more vocally. The vocals still sound like me, but I've been challenging myself to express my ideas in a more melodic fashion."

Spider cites a new lyrical bent as well: "I've always been proud of the fact that I've written lyrics that were a bit abstract – always about something, but not so obvious or in-your-face. But this time around I sort of knocked down that wall and tried to write lyrics that would be more tangible to someone. I think that's gonna play an important role when we hit the road and kids are singing along to the lyrics and they really mean something specific to them. So I've been writing stuff that's a little more simple and clear."

Spider, M.33 and Adam 12's choice of drummer Adrian Ost was also simple and clear. "Adrian was the very first person who auditioned," Spider informs. "He was recommended by a friend of ours. He came in and nailed the songs and played them with a fire I hadn't heard in a long time. We hung out afterward and I just said, 'We should hire this guy.' He just made sense for the band."

Finding bassist Siggy, however, proved a marked contrast. Says Spider: "We ended up auditioning 40 people, and Siggy was quite literally the 40th person on the list. But when we heard him play, we knew right away he was the one."

Asked to comment on the delay in releasing a follow-up to Tonight The Stars Revolt!, Spider relates: "When you're writing songs and the creativity is flowing, you don't want to stop. But you hear, 'You're not gonna get your record out by such and such a date.' That's what happened to us with Doomsday. We had this looming release date and we were rushed, when maybe we should have just stopped and said, 'Hey, we need to finish these new songs." This time out, we threw away the schedule and took the time to make a superior record."

He reports that nothing from Doomsday appears on the forthcoming disc in its original form, but that the quintet has been "toying with a couple of the songs and rearranging them and giving them the vibe of what's happening with the new band."

"A few people have worried about how long we've been away," the PM5K frontman continues, "but for us, the time factor is a non-issue, because if you come back with a great record, who cares? I mean, I hate not being out there. I hate not being on tour. I hate not being in the middle of it. I went to the KROQ Weenie Roast and had withdrawal symptoms watching everybody else play! But we couldn't go right back in and get started on a new record after pulling Doomsday if we'd wanted to because we had to replace two members. It takes time."

By Spider One's reckoning, the time has been well spent: "I have never been so confident , excited and happy about a group of songs as I am about the ones we're doing now!" he volunteers. "With each record we try to push ourselves and do something we haven't done before and with this one, we've done that 100 percent. The few people I've played the demos for have said, ' Wow – I can't believe how much you guys have grown.'"

"It's almost like we're back in Boston in 1992 feeling why we started playing in the first place," Spider concludes. "The spirit of the band feels new again, which is the best thing that could have happened."

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